About an hour before an announced deadline for original co-sponsors on a Democratic-led effort to disapprove of President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency over border security, one Republican had signed on.

At the same time, the measure had already gathered support from 216 members, almost all of them members of the House Democratic caucus.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer wants to know how many journalists a hedge fund intends to lay off if it manages to take control of the publisher of USA TODAY.

The attempt by the hedge fund Alden Global Capital to take control of the newspaper publisher Gannett has the attention of the New York senator, who is expressing concern about the ability of the public to have access to local news.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that he was ruling out running for Senate in Kansas in 2020 — at least as long as he is still the top diplomat.

“I love Kansas. I’m going to be the secretary of State as long as President Trump gives me the opportunity to serve as America’s senior diplomat,” Pompeo told NBC’s “Today Show” when asked about a possible race for the seat being vacated by the retirement of Sen. Pat Roberts.

As negotiators were finalizing a final fiscal 2019 funding package highlighted by border security spending Wednesday evening, it became clear that an extension of the Violence Against Women Act wouldn’t make the cut.

Several policy riders in the mix earlier Wednesday, including back pay for federal contractors for wages lost during the 35-day partial shutdown and the VAWA extension, didn’t make it in the final bargaining over the fiscal 2019 spending conference report, according to aides in both parties.

The Senate Rules and Administration Committee took a predictably partisan turn Wednesday when the panel voted along party lines to advance a resolution that would slash debate time for most presidential nominees.

Ranking member Amy Klobuchar led the opposition to the proposal, arguing that two hours for post-cloture debate was not enough, especially for lifetime appointments to the federal bench.

The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee insists that the Trump administration has been responsive to congressional requests for information about the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, despite claims to the contrary from several colleagues.

“We received a response to the inquiry that we made last fall,” Sen. Jim Risch said. “I’ve said we have been briefed on this matter numerous times, met with not all of the 17 intelligence agencies, but a good number of the intelligence agencies.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that he intends to call up the “Green New Deal ” for a vote in the Senate.

The Kentucky Republican’s maneuver is likely an effort to both get the many Democratic senators running for president on the record on the resolution, as well as to demonstrate that there are senators on both sides of the aisle opposed to the outline.

As lawmakers work to avoid another partial government shutdown, Sen. Elizabeth Warren is keeping up pressure on big banks to make sure they help federal employees and contractors, especially if the “agreement in principle” falls apart.

“We are now less than a week away from the February 15 deadline to fund the government, and President Trump has threatened to drag the American public through a shutdown for a second time,” the Democrat from Massachusetts wrote in a series of new letters shared first with Roll Call.

Sen. Joni Ernst has paid back Washington, D.C., for improperly claiming a tax benefit reserved for people who make their primary residence in the District.

The Iowa Republican had claimed the D.C. homestead exemption, which reduces the value of primary residences for tax purposes. The Des Moines Register was first to report the senator’s repayment, which totaled almost $1,900 for taxes going back to 2016.

Senate Republicans are moving ahead with an effort to effectively change the rules, reducing the amount of debate time allowed on many lower-level nominations by President Donald Trump.

The resolution, which has been championed by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., was being reintroduced Wednesday. It’s expected to be marked up by the Senate Rules and Administration Committee next week, according to a person familiar with the scheduling.

If President Donald Trump’s lengthy State of the Union remarks on immigration were intended to change the course of the congressional talks on border security, it doesn’t seem to have worked.

Trump’s speech does not seem to have changed the dynamic much at all when it comes to negotiating a House-Senate spending compromise that the president would like to include funding for a physical border wall. At least, that was the view of Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard C. Shelby.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants the House and Senate negotiators working on a border security spending agreement to reach a deal — even if there aren’t assurances that President Donald Trump will sign it.

The Kentucky Republican made those comments hours ahead of Trump’s State of the Union, which was rescheduled to Tuesday thanks to the most recent partial government shutdown.

If the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee were a beer drinker, he would not be a fan of Bud Light.

Sen. Charles E. Grassley took a moment out of a call with reporters Tuesday morning to thank brewers who use corn syrup, in response to a Super Bowl advertising campaign by Anheuser-Busch InBev that trashed competitors for including the ingredient.

Sen. Robert Menendez wants to make sure undocumented immigrants who formerly worked at President Donald Trump’s golf clubs are not deported while allegations of misconduct by the Trump organization are being investigated.